Establish independent monitoring institution on implementation of CRPD— Government urged

The Ghana Federation of Disabilities (GFD) has asked Government to establish and designate an independent institution to monitor and report on the implementation of the Convention of Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).

That, it said, would ensure full implementation of the Convention to achieve a satisfactory result.

The organisation made the appeal in a report on the implementation of the CRPD, in Accra.

The CRPD is an international human rights treaty of the United Nations intended to protect the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities.

Parties to the Convention are required to promote, protect, and ensure the full enjoyment of human rights by persons with disabilities and ensure that persons with disabilities enjoy full equality under the law.

Ghana, in 2007, signed onto the United Nations CRPD and subsequently ratified the same on August 22, 2012.

In 2018, the country submitted its first report after many years of failing to do so in 2014.

This was in fulfilment of Article 33 of the Convention which obliged Government Parties to prepare national reports to the United Nations Committee of Experts on the implementation status of the Convention.

The GFD said years after the country ratified the Convention, the Government of Ghana as a Government Party to the CRPD had not done much as far as implementation of the Convention was concerned.

While it appreciated the existence of institutions such as the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), to resolve all human rights violations including that of PWDs, the absence of an independent, resourced institution to monitor and report on the implementation of the Convention was affecting full implementation of the Convention.

“As stated in the Government report, there is no independent Government institution designated to monitor and report on the implementation of the CRPD. Despite the roles being played by CHRAJ and the National Council on Persons with Disability (NCPD), the Government is yet to designate an independent Government institution to monitor and report on the implementation of the convention, but these entities do not include persons with disabilities and OPDs in monitoring the implementation.

“This therefore to a large extent negatively affect the full implementation of the CRPD,” the organisation noted.

Article 216 of the 1992 Constitution establishes the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) which oversees resolving issues on violations of fundamental rights and freedoms as well as monitoring Government compliance and obligation under international human rights treaties and conventions.

The Federation added that: “As per Act 715, the NCPD is the focal point for the implementation of the convention. However, the council is under-resourced and not decentralized making it impossible for the council to carry out its mandate effectively.”

It also noted that while there were laws seeking to promote and protect the rights of persons with disabilities, there were still gaps in the country's domestic legislation, some of which contravened the CRPD.

Overall, the Federation said, there seemed to be low political will on the part of the Government towards a comprehensive implementation of the CRPD.

It, therefore, called for highly expressive cross-sectorial programmes and activities to gather the full participation of persons with disabilities in mainstream society on an equal base with others.

“In order for all persons with disabilities in Ghana to attain a full realisation of their respective rights, as espoused by the convention, the Government of Ghana will have to execute their commitment towards the rights of persons with disabilities through highly expressive cross-sectorial programmes and activities that will significantly elicit the full participation of persons with disabilities in mainstream society on an equal base with others,” it emphasised.

GNA